Chelsi Miller: Expanding Access to Music Education through Technology
Chelsi Miller is a student in Northwestern’s Master’s of Education in Learning Sciences concentration in the School of Education and Social Policy.
At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Chelsi Miller lost her nannying job, and found herself home all day, with nothing to do.
“I was really bored, so one day I opened up GarageBand, the digital music making software,” Miller said. “I started creating music on there, and my entire world expanded.” Miller would often spend all day experimenting with digital instrumentation, lyrics, and “writing really crazy songs.”
Now, as a student in the MSEd in Learning Sciences concentration, Miller has been able to combine her love of education and digital music tools through her master’s project. She’s chosen a topic which is very personal to her: access to music education.
As a child, Chelsi Miller loved music. In elementary school, she sang in the choir and played trumpet in the band. Things changed, however, when Miller entered junior high school.
“There were financial barriers and limited opportunities,” Miller said. “As a result, I started to develop limiting beliefs about my abilities as a musician and an artist.”
The costs of uniforms and instruments are often passed on to parents, making it challenging for many children like Miller to participate in the arts. For Miller, this meant a hiatus from music for several years.
Now, as part of her master’s project, Miller is exploring how using free digital tools like GarageBand could make music education more accessible. “I am working on developing a learning platform to explore music, nature, and [computer science] for young learners.” Miller said. “I’ve become really interested in how digital learning programs can expand or inhibit learning trajectories.”
As Miller wraps up the Learning Sciences program, she is excited to continue her research and pursue a PhD. “I like my master’s project topic, and I feel like I want to dive in more and turn it into a dissertation.”
Beyond her PhD, Miller is keeping her options open. “I would love to be a part of the creation of digital education tools or perhaps help reshape music education in our country through policy work.”
No matter where her path will lead, Miller knows it will involve music. “I love the arts, and everyone should have access to it.”